An Easy Way to Brighten Up Your Workspace

A flower a day keeps the frowns away

Ah, spring! It's a such a beautiful time of year. I returned to New York Sunday night after two weeks of corporate travel and, on my commute to work Monday morning, I passed what seemed to be thousands of tulips in the flowerbeds surrounding the building on my street corner. You'd have to be dead not to have your spirits lifted by the bright yellows, blazing oranges, and brilliant reds that lined an entire city block.

Mid-way through my morning the tulips resurfaced in my mind. I thought, why can't I be looking at them while I work? Why do I have to wait until my walk home to see them again? So when I popped out to Whole Foods to pick up a snack I grabbed a bunch of purple tulips for a mere $6.

The flowers on my desk not only brought a smile to my face but warranted several comments from colleagues. For almost the same cost of a soy latte in New York, why not consider this simple trick to brighten up your workspace?

For those tulip lovers in NYC like me, you can find an abundance—like a whole 60,000 of them marching up and down Park Avenue from East 54th to 86th Streets. Like a light bulb, a tulip bulb can really energize an urban landscape. And if you happen to be near Pella, Iowa, the Tulip Time Festival is hosted there May 3-5. There is also a Tulip Time Festival in Holland, Michigan from May 5-12.

Another interesting fact about tulips that I uncovered in Delta's Sky Magazine on my way home from DC is that over 4.5 million tulips grow in the sprawling fields of Keukenhof, Holland (supposedly the most-photographed place in the world). After looking at the picture above, I think you will understand why it has earned that honor.

Signing Off Tipsy over Tulips,Renee

Renee blogs about travel, food and living life to the fullest on Shape.com. If you're looking for Renee, you can find her via Twitter, on Facebook or on Pinterest, where you will find her favorite visual musings.